Stargazer Snaps Stunning Milky Way Photo of Mount Rainier (Image)

by Nina Sen, Space.com Contributor | November 20, 2013 02:10pm ET

The Milky Way shines over Mount Rainier National Park, Washington in this image sent to SPACE.com. Paula Cobleigh captured the photo on Oct. 25, 2013. Lights from the town of Cle Elum appear in the background.Credit: Paula Cobleigh

The brilliant band of the Milky Way dazzles over Mount Rainier National Park in an amazing new image.

Paula Cobleigh captured this photo on Oct. 25 while visiting Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. Mount Rainier is an active volcano, ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level (4,392 meters). This massive glaciated peak also spawned six major rivers — the most in the contiguous United States. The lights in the background of the image, toward the front of the mountain are from the town of Cle Elum. [Stunning Photos of Our Milky Way Galaxy (Gallery )]

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy made up of gas, dust and roughly 400 billion stars. Stretching between 100,000 to 120,000 light-years in diameter, our host galaxy appears from Earth like a line of light in the sky. The section of the galaxy we see is actually the center of the galaxy, as seen from one of its outer arms. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).

Milky Way Quiz: Test Your Galaxy Smarts

Dust off your spiral arms and fatten up your bulge — it's time to tap into your inner galaxy to test your smarts about the Milky Way. Our home in space is a strange and wondrous place that scientists are still trying to figure out. See what you know!

Dust off your spiral arms and fatten up your bulge — it's time to tap into your inner galaxy to test your smarts about the Milky Way. Our home in space is a strange and wondrous place that scientists are still trying to figure out. See what you know!